Cycling Round Up |
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Archives: February 2002 O'Donoghue Wins In Tralee: (By Shane Stokes Feb 24) Cidona Carrick rider Eddie O'Donoghue redisplayed his habitual early season form when he won the first open race of the year in Tralee today. O'Donoghue outsprinted Paul Griffin (Earl of Desmond) and Banteer rider Richie Cahill to win the 48 mile Lacey Cup, held on the Dingle Peninsula. The race was a handicapped contest with the veteran and senior 3 riders being granted a 6 minute head start. However the scratch group managed to overcome this advantage before Castlemaine, after which the 5 best-placed riders went clear. In France, Mark Scanlon finished third on
Saturday in the Grand Prix of Vence, in the hills of the
French Riviera. The VC La Pomme rider finished behind
ex-professional Benoît Luminet (CR4C Roanne) and AVC
Aix rider Samuel Plouhinec at the end of the 143
kilometre race. Scanlon's team-mate Dennis Lynch was
31st. EVANS 9th IN GRAND PRIX OF ANTIBES: (By Shane Stokes Feb 25) VC La Pomme rider Tommy Evans finished a strong 9th in the Grand Prix of Antibes yesterday, held over a rolling 8 kilometre circuit north of the Riviera town. Team mate Denis Lynch was involved in an early breakaway move, but when this was brought back both Evans and Mark Scanlon got involved in the thick of the action. The duo rode strongly to try to limit the gains of a small group which had gone clear, but towards the end of the 120 kilometre event it was clear that the gap was not coming down. Evans then forged ahead in a small chase group to eventually finish 9th, 2 minutes and 14 seconds behind winner Samuel Plouhinec of the AVC Aix team. CR4C rider Benoit Luminet was second, six seconds down, with Nicolas Reynaud (AVC Aix) next across the line. LA POMME RIDERS IN GOOD FORM: (By Shane Stokes Feb 21) Marseilles-based trio Tommy Evans, Mark Scanlon and Denis Lynch showed they are in good form with strong displays in recent French races. The three VC La Pomme riders were competing in a set of three events based around Cannes on the Cote d’Azur. Tommy Evans secured the best result in winning the third of the races, the GP de Peymeinade, and also placed 4th and 10th in the GP de Cannes-Mountauroux and the Souvenir Vietto-Gianello respectively. Mark Scanlon highlighted his good early season form in the latter event. The Sligoman led the race with a solo breakaway for 55 kilometres but was caught with just 1.5 remaining; he finished third, 5 seconds behind victorious team-mate Stéphane Mifsud while Denis Lynch was 5th, 2 minutes and 48 second back. Lynch is, by all reports, in very strong form. He was present in the break on each of the three races and finished 6th, in the same time as Evans, in the Peymeinade race. He was also 14th, at 1 minute and 7 seconds, in the Cannes-Montaurox event. ‘I am in good shape’, said Scanlon this week. ‘I have got in a good winter – I have been back in France since early January and done a good amount of training. I am back working with Padraig Marrey (coach when he won the Junior world championships) and am 5 kilos lighter than when I started racing last year.’ ‘I have been told by several teams that I will be given a contract if I ride well this season. The goal is just to be going as well as I can and start getting some results soon. There is little point on relying on doing well in a race like the world championships. That is an awful long way away, I want to have a contract secured long before then.’ Tour of Med interview: COOKE AIMS FOR CLASSICS, WILSON LOOKS AHEAD (By Shane Stokes Feb 21) La Francaise des Jeux pro Baden Cooke has set his sights on a ride in the Tour de France this year. The Australian sprinter has been told by his team that if they are selected, he should be picked for the squad. ‘That is my main goal for the season, but I also want to win some big races, do well at Paris-Nice, and learn from the classics’, he stated. <Read More Here>
The news bears striking similarity to the sudden demise of the Linda McCartney team in January 2001 which left Irish riders Ciarán Power and Mark Scanlon sidelined. While Scanlon was forced to return to the amateur ranks Power was able to land a contract, with the St. Quentin professional outfit in France; now McCann is hoping that he will be able to do likewise. ‘It is a bit of a shock all right’, the 2000/2001 Irish road race champion today. ‘The team had been due to get back to me a couple of weeks ago with arrangements for the season, but I didn’t hear from them. I went off for two weeks training in Majorca, presuming that everything was okay, but when I did contact them I was told that the sponsor had pulled out and there was no team.’ To compound his misery, McCann picked up a ligament strain in his thigh while in Majorca, and is now receiving daily physiotherapy for the injury. ‘I am concentrating on getting over this right now’, he said, ‘but then I will have to work out what I am going to do for the year. I will try to get a pro contract but it is very late for that’. One thing in McCann’s favour is the 81 world ranking points he picked up last season in races, winning the Tour of Hokkaido and defending his title in the Irish road race championships. UCI points are valuable currency in cycling and the Belfast man would be an attractive prospect for a team, particularly with the Irish champion's jersey on his back. However the fact that the season has already begun weighs heavily against his chances. ‘I might end up racing as an amateur in Italy – the priority is to go wherever the best standard of racing is to develop my ability as a rider.’ McCann’s two main targets for the season are the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships time trial and, despite this most recent disappointment, he remains firmly set on pursing these. ‘I can be right up there in the Commonwealth games’, he says, ‘and think I am capable of finishing in the top 20 or 25 in the World Championships. I plan to just keep working towards those two goals.’ LEIPHEIMER AIMS HIGH: (By Shane Stokes Feb 20) Levi Leipheimer is relaxed, or as the French would say, détendu. In spite of the brooding clouds gathering overhead which promise, any minute, to begin spilling down another day of cold rain, he is chatting contentedly at the départ area of the Tour of the Mediterranean's third stage in Villeneuve Loubet. It takes a moment to recognize him; a new Rabobank jacket covers his trunk and a thick cap his balding forehead. But Leipheimer it is, relaxed in his role with the Dutch squad and clearly content with both his current form and his transformed life. <Read More Here> VANDENBROUCKE SET FOR CLASSICS: (By Shane Stokes Feb 19) After an encouraging performance in the Tour of the Mediterranean race Frank Vandenbroucke has expressed satisfaction with his current form and says that he expects to be in condition for the spring classics. 'The form is pretty good right now, but not enough for first place. I think that after Tirreno-Adriatico I will be at a good level, in time for races such as Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders', he told Irishcycling.com at the Med Tour. <Read More Here> HIGH FOREIGN INTEREST EXPECTED FOR SHAY ELLIOT MEMORIAL: (By Shane Stokes Feb 18) The recently upgraded Shay Elliot memorial race looks set to attract its strongest field ever, with the race organizers Bray Wheelers CC confirming that a number of foreign squads have enquired about taking part this year. 'Teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Holland and Canada have been in touch looking for details and we have also been talking to others such as David McCann's Polish professional team Ceresit-Henkel', said Declan Crean, PRO for the club. <Read More Here> Recruitment drive part of new strategy: (By Shane Stokes Feb 15) While it has been functioning as Cycling Ireland for some time, the Irish Cycling Federation was this week officially relaunched under the new title at a reception in Dublin. Read the full story in the Irish Times >> EUROSPORT CAMPAIGN GROWS: (By Shane Stokes Feb 14) The campaign to return Eurosport to TV screens is continuing with the online petition now featuring over 1200 signatures from angry sports fans. On average 150-200 signatures a day are added, with a downloadable petition in Microsoft Word form also available for those who wish to print it out and collect more names. It is hoped that Cycling Ireland will back the campaign and allow the petition to be present at race sign-on desks; with Eurosport the sole channel to provide dedicated coverage of our sport, the backing of CI is of importance to cycling fans. The petition signatories are calling on NTL to reverse their decision to replace the channel with CNBC Europe. Some of them are threatening to go with Sky digital instead if this is not done. The petition, and other details, can be accessed via the new portal site, www.bringbackeurosport.com
CYCLING IRELAND OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED: (By Shane Stokes, Irish Times cycling correspondent Feb 11) While it has been functioning as Cycling Ireland for a number of weeks, the Irish Cycling Federation was today (Monday) officially relaunched under its new title at a reception in Dublin. In attendance were former champions Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche, plus An Tanaíste Mary Harney and John Treacy of the Irish Sports Council. Besides the introduction of a more user-friendly and modern name, there are several reasons for today’s relaunch. The body is considerably different to that of one year ago, with a new president, CEO, development officer, a restructured board and various commissions all in place. The aims of the governing body have also become broader, with leisure and commuter cycling now an increasing part of its focus. In addition to the continued development of its Team Ireland initiative, enhancement of the competitive wing of the sport and a bigger recruitment drive to attract new members, Cycling Ireland outlined several other projects which it will devote its energies to. These include:
Speaking at the reception, the Tanaíste Mary Harney spoke highly of the changes in the governing body. ‘The launch today of Cycling Ireland is a benchmark for a new era in Irish Sport. The imaginative strategies that have been put in place will inevitably allow the sport to prosper over the coming years both competitively and recreationally. I am delighted that their programme has been extended to develop recreational sport - leisure and commuter cycling are so important to the future of this country. A healthier lifestyle and safer accessible cycling routes are also paramount. The National Bike Week is an excellent vehicle to promote this and has the full support from everyone in Government." Cycling Ireland president PJ Nolan was quick to applaud this assistance. ‘We very much welcome the increased support from Government through An Tanaiste, Mary Harney T.D. and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr James McDaid. I would also like to thank the Irish Sports Council for their continued support, our sponsors, members and volunteers,’ he said. ‘This is truly the dawning of a new era for Irish cycling. The increased support and funding through the capital sports grant programme has seen funding rise substantially by 61% in a two-year period from 2000 to 2002. Our future plans could not be implemented without this vital support’. Cycling Ireland’s strategy document will act as the blueprint for the future direction of the governing body, and according to CEO Eamon Duffy, its continued implementation is of vital importance for the future of the sport in this country. ‘We are very excited about the new look and structure of Cycling Ireland. The implementation of our plan will make the resurgence in our sport progressive and sustainable’, he concluded. FBD Milk Rás Unveils Daunting Route for 50th: (By Shane Stikes Feb 8) The FBD Milk Rás race director Dermot Dignam has ensured a ferocious battle will determine the winner of this year's 50th edition of the Irish tour over a daunting route. Read the full story in the Irish Times >> NTL UNDER PRESSURE: (By Shane Stokes Feb 6) Following several newsprint articles criticizing their decision to shelve Eurosport, countless customer complaints and two consecutive mornings of adverse publicity on the Marian Finucane show, the cable provider NTL has discovered that the replacement of the sports channel with the business station CNBC Europe has been a far from painless operation. According to Finucane, RTE has been inundated with complaints about NTL’s decision to drop Eurosport. Her shows on Tuesday and Wednesday featured angry callers who condemned the move; NTL Marketing Manager Mark Mohan did little to quell the storm yesterday when he repeatedly refused to answer Finucane’s question as to whether CNBC cost less than Eurosport for the provider to show. ‘We can’t discuss confidential agreements’, said Mohan repeatedly, parrying Finucane’s question which sought to establish if cost-cutting, rather than viewer preferences, was the actual motivation behind the controversial decision. Click this link http://www.radio1.ie/morning/marianfinucane/index.html to go to programme and select Tuesday and/or Wednesday. The Wednesday NTL bit is about 40 mins into the programme. Eurosport itself hit back this morning, with Ireland Area Manager Greg d'Assche speaking for several minutes about the issue. D’Assche countered that the channel had a broad base of support in Ireland, disputing NTL’s portrayal of Eurosport as a station which had few viewers. ‘We have a lot of support across Europe and Ireland has actually the highest proportion of viewers in any of the countries we supply to….one in three Irish TV viewers will watch Eurosport on a weekly basis’, he said. D’Assche pointed out that Eurosport is an event-based channel, with viewers tuning in to the station when their particular sport is being shown and not necessarily watching the channel each day. For this reason, he said, NTL’s research is flawed. ‘It is misleading to quote the viewer figures from one day. It is much more accurate to look at the numbers over a longer period of time’, he said, thus explaining why the cancellation of a channel with so-called poor ratings has managed to infuriate quite so many people. And not just sporting fans. Amongst these protesters are many of Ireland’s governing bodies, with the NGB’s of cycling, tennis, swimming, rowing, hockey, table tennis, diving, volleyball and motorsport amongst those who protested strongly to NTL last week. Their annoyance is further accentuated by recent successes in these ‘minority’ sports, which get less overall media exposure than the mainstream events yet so often produce better results. Last summer Irish rowers secured three gold medals in the world rowing championships while in September our hockey players finished fifth in the World Cup qualifying event in Paris, thus securing their place in the finals this November. Eurosport has been good to cycling, too: In October 1998 the station brought the only live pictures of Mark Scanlon’s storming win in the 1998 junior world championships. NTL say that they are considering adding Eurosport to their digital service, but with a sign-up fee and monthly charges to contend with, this is not a concession which will readily pacify those who are angered by its removal from the basic package. ‘They should bring it back right away. I would rather go out and buy a satellite dish than give NTL money to watch Eurosport on their digital channel. If they don’t bring it back, I am changing to another supplier’ said one cycling fan. A sentiment echoed by many in recent days. What you can do: Sign online petition to bring back Eurosport here: http://www.petitiononline.com/bbe/petition.html Download hard copy and distribute to friends and work colleagues, from here: http://www.petitiononline.com/cgi-bin/mlk?http://bringbackeurosport.8m.com PARIS NICE SAVED: (By Shane Stokes Feb 2) The prestigious early season stage contest Paris-Nice will go ahead after all next month, after race owner Laurent Fignon and Tour de France organizers Amaury Sport Organisation reached an agreement on selling the race. Fignon, who previously competed as a professional and won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, had broken off discussions with ASO last week due to an argument over the sale price of the event. Fignon had been due to enter discussions next week with IMG Switzerland – who organize the Tours of Romandie and Switzerland - in an attempt to secure much-needed finances, but the unexpected turnaround with ASO now means that the race future looks secure. The news will come as a huge relief to many professional cycling teams, who had expressed dismay last week with both the expected cancellation of the race and the effect this would have on their early season preparation for the spring classics. Paris-Nice, or ‘The Race to the Sun’ as it is also known, is due to run from March 10–17th. Ireland's Sean Kelly holds the record of seven victories in the race. The roll call of honour also includes quintuple Tour de France champions Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain. Dignam Promises Toughest Rás: (By Shane Stokes Feb 1) FBD Milk Rás race director Dermot Dignam has promised that this year's race, the 50th edition, will feature "one of the toughest ever" routes in the event's history. Read the full story in the Irish Times >> |
McCann’s
Pro Team Collapses:
(By Shane Stokes Feb 20) The
professional career of Irish champion David McCann is
under serious threat following the news that the
Ceresit-Henkel team, with whom he was due to compete
this season, has suffered financial collapse.
The
Pedal for Points Membership Scheme, which was
launched today, and which will allow all Cycling
Ireland members to avail of discounts from a number
of goods and services, ranging from cheaper
insurance to reductions on bicycle equipment. There
will also be holiday giveaways during the year under
the scheme. Besides benefits to existing members, CI
hopes it will also entice recreational cyclists to
join the federation.